DENTON, Texas – After picking up wins over Abilene Christian and Jackson State earlier in the tournament, the Utah Valley University volleyball team dropped the Mean Green Classic title match in four sets to host North Texas on Saturday night at the North Texas Volleyball Center (18-25, 13-25, 27-25, 20-25).
"We started slow which was a little unfortunate, however, I was proud of the girls' desire and determination after the break," said head coach Sam Atoa. "That allowed us to win the seesaw battle in the third and gave us some chances in that fourth set as well. Overall, we competed and I feel like when we do that we have the opportunity to succeed."
Sophomore outside hitter Macky Treanor and senior libero McKenna Tait were both named to the Mean Green Classic All-Tournament Team following the match as the two led the Wolverines (3-8) on the weekend and in Saturday evening's contest. Treanor paced UVU against the Mean Green (9-1) with a team-high 12 kills while Tait led the way from the back row with 13 digs and a pair of aces. For the tournament, Treanor tallied 32 kills and a .241 hitting percentage while Tait put up 40 digs and 11 aces.
UVU hung right with the Mean Green for the first half of the opening set, as the scored remained tied at 13-all. UNT used a 4-0 run to take a 17-13 advantage and the home team held the lead from there as it took the first frame by a score of 25-18.
The second set was more of the same as both teams traded points early on but following another North Texas run, the Mean Green took control as they went on to win the set by 12 points.
The Wolverines countered back in the third set as they went on to win the tightly contested frame by a score of 27-25. With the Mean Green holding a 24-23 match-point advantage, UVU scored back-to-back points to take a 25-24 set-point lead of its own. Following a North Texas point, the Wolverines managed to score two consecutive points once again to force a fourth set. Sophomore Nakisha Willden delivered two clutch kills during the stretch, including the final one.
With the fourth set tied at 16-all, UNT made its move by scoring five unanswered points to take a late 21-16 advantage. A Treanor kill followed by a block assist from senior Cassie Wahlin and freshman Madison Wolford pulled UVU to within three at 21-18, but that was as close as the Wolverines would get as North Texas took the fourth set, 25-20.
Junior Lauren Bakker too played well for the Wolverines in the contest as she recorded nine kills and a .316 attack percentage. Willden was next with seven kills of her own while freshman Sierra Starley led the way in assists with 36.
Carnae Dillard paced the Mean Green with a match-best 26 kills.
Prior to Saturday night's tournament title against the UNT, UVU swept Jackson State on Friday (25-8, 25-16, 25-18) and defeated Abilene Christian in four sets on Saturday afternoon (25-9, 24-26, 26-24, 25-17) at the Mean Green Classic.
Saturday's match against North Texas marked UVU's 11th straight away from home in 2014.
The Wolverines will now return to Orem to host the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational next weekend. UVU will welcome Idaho State, Portland and UC Riverside to town for the tournament. Friday evening's contest against Idaho State will mark UVU's 2014 home opener.
